Roof construction



W. S. HUTCHINSON.

ROOF CONSTRUCTION. AFFLICATION FILED mus. I919.

1,413, 584. Patented Apr. 25, 1922.

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WITNESSES I M/INVENTOR I ygsw m Maw,

' for ventilating, shafting, etc.

UNHTED STATES}- WILLIAr/i s. nu'rcnrnson, or" BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVAN IA;

:eoor comer-newton.

Appl at o d M 5',

T 0 all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, lVILLIAM S. HU'rorriN- sort, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Bethlehem, in the county of. Northampton and State of Pennsylvania, have made a new and useful Invention in Roof Construction, of which the following is a specification. I i I My invention relates to building construction and in particular to the manner of supporting saw-tooth roofs by means of struc tural trusses.

In constructing factories and other similar types of buildings. it is customary to erect the side walls to the minimum hight neces sary to provide sufficient working space and to erect thereon a roof consisting of alternate sloping panels of wood and glass fac ing respectively in diverging directions so thata section through the roof presents the appearance which suggests its descriptive name, saw-tooth. If the building walls are spaced a great distance apart, it is necessary to support the roof between the walls by root trusses and the bottom of such trusses must be high enough to afford room These trusses will vary in depth in ,difi'erent buildings to afford sufiicient strength. It is customary to superimpose the saw-tooth roof on top of these trusses. This construction increases the buildinghight'to an amount correspond ing to the depth of the trusses and the object of my invention is to eliminate this in crease in hight as well as to eliminate substantial amounts'in the costs of material and labor as will be described below.

tication in which Figure 1 is a section through the upper walls and the roof of a building and is'taken on a line parallel to the ridges and valleys of the roof such as line 11 of 2. Fig. 2 is a section on line 22 of Fig. 1 showing a complete roof section.

Columns 1 or end walls 2, or both, support the roof trusses 3 which are composed of top chords 4, bottom chords 5 and transverse members hereinafter mentioned. Trusses 3 carry the roof purlins 6. 7 and 8 and are stillened and braced laterally by these purlins and horizontal struts 9. The side walls 10 of the building may either extend to a horizontal level at the top of trusses 3 or may follow the roof outline as I have indicated in Fig 2. In either case, the roof, instead 1919. Serial No. 297,212.

ing upwardly, is located substantially entirely between the horizontal planes of the top and bottom chords 4 and 5 of the truss. Each truss includesthe usual web 'mem here which are secured toits top 'and bottom chords. As shown in Figure l, the truss is 1 provided with vertical members 13, (one being shown), diagonals l1 and 11 and short braces 1 1, 15 and16 between the di--- agonal l1 and the bottom chord. The diagonals 11 and 11 aid in' supporting the roof sections and as shown, the roof supporting purlin 7 is mounted on the diagonal 11.-

With this arrangement each relatively slop- 111g sect1on of the roof structure is partially supported on a web member of each truss but the truss is independent of the roof sec;

tion and merely forms a support therefor. As shown, the short braces 14, 15 and 161indirectly assist in supporting the roof section 12 and serve as intermediate braces in the roof truss. It will, .of course, be understood that each roof truss maybe provided with Specification of Letters Eatent. Patgn'ted Apf ygf 1 22 I two or more Vertical nembersliq and cooper;

at-ing diagonal members such asfare illustrated and that the roof supporting. purlins 6, 7, and 8 together with the horizontal strut 9' strengthen the roof trusses by tying them together and thereby, bracingeach truss laterally and holding the several trusses in parallelism. I v

The purlins 7 supporting the roof sheathing or sections 12 andthe roofsash sections 17 are shown supported by transverse 1116111 1 bers mounted on the diagonals 11 It is evident that if'the above construction is used in place of the usual type, wherein the roof'is superimposed above the roof trusses, there is a reduction in -the ;cubical contents of the building equivalent to the area of the building multiplied by the depth of truss 3. This decrease in the space required to be heated results in large economy in heating equipment and in the operation and maintenance thereof. There is a substaiitial decrease in the hight of wall erected equivalent to the depth oftruss i. There also a substantial saving of steel due to the combining of the functions of the truss diagonals and uprights with the roof rafters, posts and braces; thus eliminating one of these sets of parts; and this is attended by a complementary saving of labor in fabricating and assembling.

All of sleeve 'mentioned advantages are secured without sacrificing a foot of head room as, in any construction, the working, space is limited by the lower chord of truss 3 which is just as far from the floor of the building with my construction as it would be if theroof were superimposed above the truss in the usual manner.

I claim 1. In a building structure two roof trusses spaced horizontally and each comprising a top chord, a bottom chord spaced therefrom tial parallel relation, each comprising a top chord, a bottom chord spaced therefrom and extending substantially parallel thereto, and web members secured to and extending between the top and bottom chords, in combination with root supporting members extending between said trusses and secured to chord and web members thereof, and a sawtooth roof structure comprising relatively inclined roof sections formed independently of said trusses, located substantially entirely between the horizontal planes defined by the top and bottom chords of said trusses and supported by said roof supporting members.

3. In a building structure, two roott' trusses spaced horizontally and each comprising a top chord, a bottom chord and intermediate inclined web members secured to said chords, in combination with transverse roo:fsupporting tie members secured to chord and web members of both trusses, and relatively inclined roof sections mounted on said rootthe two trusses and con forming in inclination to the inclination of supporting web members, r

relates In a building structure, two horizon:

tally spaced roof. trusses, each comprising a top chord, a bottom chord spaced therefrom and vertical and diagonal web members extending between and. secured to said top and bottom chords, in combination with load supporting members extending between said trusses and supported by the chords and web members thereof, and a saw-tooth roof structure comprising relatively inclined sections formed independently of the roof trusses and supported on said load supporting members and located between said trusses and substantially entirely between the planes defined by the top and bottom chords thereof.

6. In a building structure, two roof trusses, spaced apart and located in substantially parallel relation and each comprising a top chord, a bottom chord spaced therefrom and vertical and diagonal web-members eX- tending between and secured to said top and bottom chords, roof-supporting purlins extending between said trusses and secured to the top chords, web-members, and bottom chords thereof, in combination with oppositely-sloping independently-formed roofsections supported on said purlins and located between said trusses and substantially entirely between the planes defined by the top chords and bottom chords respectively of said trusses.

In testimony whereof, I have hereuntosubscribed my hand this 6th day of May, 1919.

wiLLiA s. I-mTonINsoN, 

